Video: Manoel Felciano on Playing Orestes in “Elektra”

Sophocles’ Elektra—which concludes its run at the Getty Villa this Saturday—is the story of a woman’s thirst for revenge: Elektra rages and plots against her mother (and her mother’s lover) for slaying her father. But Elektra’s brother, Orestes, is the one charged with the bloody deed that serves as the chilling—and, in this production, off-stage—climax of the action.

Playing Orestes with a dash of “hunky heroism” is accomplished vocalist and stage actor Manoel Felciano, who’s starred in plays as diverse as The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Sweeney Todd, and Much Ado About Nothing. In this video, Felciano talks about his role in Elektra, his work with director Carey Perloff at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco, and why he chose to delve into the classics after enjoying success on Broadway.